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Waiting in Lines | Pad Patter 6.27

bestcee

bestcee

In love with places I've never been to
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Dec 18, 2013
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What's the longest you've ever waited in line for something - and what was it? Was it worth it?

I saw this question and was immediately brought back to Black Friday lines and waiting for the midnight release of Harry Potter books and Star Wars movies. There's a lot of things I've waited in line for lately, and often it's frustrating because it's things like grocery checkout, etc. But I smiled to remember the ones I enjoyed and the anticipation! And I have to think about how long we waited. I know for Harry Potter it was at over an hour. But it was fun because it was me and some siblings hanging out and chatting with other book readers.
 
Rides at Universal, Disney, etc. Multiple ones, but most recent longest wait was for Hagrid's motorcycle ride (90 minutes) - so worth it. When Gringotts opened several years before, we once waited over 2 hours because the line was that long and then the ride broke down and we chose to stay in line, so probably closer to 3 hours. At least they let you leave to potty and then get back in line with your party.

Long, long, long ago I waited 2+ hours for tickets to see the Who.

Oh this one - with a four year old - waited 4 hours for the UPS man to come to the video store with their shipment of Nintendo's original wii game console. There were just 4 machines coming and originally I was number 5 in line. But 2 people got tired and left so I scored one. The good thing was we did not have to actually stand in a line. And they let us leave to visit the nearby grocery store for snacks and potty breaks. We also ordered pizza and ate it on the sidewalk. Keeping the 4 yr old entertained was a bit of a challenge. The things we do for our children...but I scored major Mom points with my high schooler that day.
 
I don't remember how long but I would guess any long line waits were at amusement parks whether it was Disney or Cedar Point. My last visit to Cedar Point (2013) was a day with several pop up rain showers that came through so rides were shut down. The one with the longest wait was actually where the line was under a roof so we stayed in line. That wait was actually fun because someone had a beach ball and it was being batted all over the place. Everyone kept trying to keep it in the air. The other rain shower, we went to eat and got in line after the rain stopped but the ride hadn't started back up yet. We ended up on the first ride when it started running again. Since I love roller coasters, the wait was worth it. My body can no longer handle all the walking and the roller coasters so I cherish the memories from that day.

Only time I went shopping on Black Friday (I usually was working), I went in the afternoon and the photo printer (Original Epson Picturemate) I wanted that was on sale was still available. No lines or crowds either.

Wal-Mart tends to have lines since they got rid of most of the checkouts for the self-checkouts. And, they usually only have 2 open. They open #3 at 11 a.m. But I've found that if I go before 10 it isn't as busy especially during the school year. Even with the lines, I can be in and out of there in less than an hour.
 
I'd have to say I've spent the most time waiting in lines for amusement park or water park rides. I think the longest was probably around 1-1.5 hours. The only other thing I can really think of was a midnight release of one of the Hunger Games books. I can't even remember now which one lol. There's not a whole lot that I'll stand and wait for :giggle
 
When our oldest girls were little we took them to Disney. They really wanted to see the princesses. We waited for over an hour. What's funny is we weren't really big Princess fans but they really wanted to see them.
 
I slept out overnight to buy football season tickets when I was in college. The longest same day wait was also in college and it was to get tickets to hear former President Reagan speak. I waited about five hours for that starting at like 2 am. I was never a fan but I was a Poli Sci major. I was not going to miss a chance to hear him speak in person. (The tickets were free but you couldn’t get in without them.)
 
I wouldn't do it now but years past I would wait for over two hours in a store line-up on Black Friday at Bellingham Mall.
 
2+ hour wait for the Radiator Spring Racers at Disney's CA Adventure. Was with my then BFF, long line to start, then it rained, we decided to stick it out. Never again, lol!! We did have fun chatting with our fellow "stay-in-liners." The young (early 20s) gal behind us was a Disney employee enjoying the park with her mom on her day off.

We rode it again later during our trip, but chose the single rider lane which was quicker although we didn't get to ride together.
 
Memaw2Wm said:
2+ hour wait for the Radiator Spring Racers at Disney's CA Adventure. Was with my then BFF, long line to start, then it rained, we decided to stick it out. Never again, lol!!
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Me too! It wasn't supposed to be that long but with some ride stoppages, it ended up being over 2 hours. Once you're about an hour in, it's hard to just walk away!
 
I think the longest line I ever stood/sat in would be for a concert. It was in a small venue and my daughter wanted to be near the stage, so we got there very early. An hour or two early. At least the sidewalk had some shade, the people around us were friendly, and since there were two of us we could take turns leaving the line to get food or use a bathroom.

Then again, I have been in a couple of Disney lines that might have been comparable.

That's all that I can think of though.

Unless you count being stuck in traffic as waiting in line for something -- after all we are lined up and waiting eagerly to get to our destination. I've been in traffic jams that took one to two hours.

I don't think I've ever waited in a movie line for more than a few minutes and know I never lined up for a book. That makes it sound like I don't love books; just to clarify, I do love to read, I just haven't ever felt compelled to obtained a book the moment it became available. (I was a Harry Potter fan, but late. I only started reading them in 2007, so the only book I bought near its release date was Deathly Hallows. And I had a 6 year old, 3 year old, and baby at the time, so even if my little town of Fredericksburg, VA had a midnight release, I wouldn't have been interested.)
 
I don't usually stand in line for much of anything these days, but back in 2012, I know we waited in lines at Disney.

Back in 2007, I went to get the final book in the Harry Potter series and took Olivia with me. It was at midnight so it was a bit of an adventure for both of us.
 
It was 1993 and I waited in line for over two hours to get a cd Walkman at a Black Friday sale. And by the time I got in the store they were sold out. Come to find out they only had five and it was a total waste of time. Am I bitter? Yes, lol
 
I hate waiting in line for anything! Growing up, my grandfather insisted on going to this particular restaurant (almost every Sunday) and the line to get in wrapped around the whole corner. It was awful! We went to Disney a few years ago, but didn't ride any rides, just went to Epcot. We used to take the kids to Cedar Point. We normally went with other couples and their kids and we made the guys go on the rides with the kids. (They had to wait in line.)

The only time that really comes to mind was trying to get a Cabbage Patch doll for my dd. LOL It was futile in the beginning - I was always too late, or they didn't get in as many as they anticipated. My husband traveled a lot and right after we failed to get one, he went to Korea and got her one over there. My dd was VERY happy!!!
 
Cherylndesigns said:
The only time that really comes to mind was trying to get a Cabbage Patch doll for my dd. LOL It was futile in the beginning - I was always too late, or they didn't get in as many as they anticipated. My husband traveled a lot and right after we failed to get one, he went to Korea and got her one over there. My dd was VERY happy!!!
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LOL ... I was at Best Products doing a return when an associate brought out a pallet of Cabbage Patch dolls. I immediately sent my husband over to grab one. Instead he stood there reading each birth certificate for the doll's name while all around him crazed women were grabbing dolls willy-nilly. Oh how I wish I had a photo, or even better, video of that scene.

He did manage to choose one ... Issac Newton ... before they were all gone. I was a bit disappointed that he'd gotten a boy, as was my daughter when she got it for Christmas. I'm pretty sure Issac Newton is in a bin in my attic with a few other CPs that I saved ... DD will be 47 in August.

Then there were the Star War figures my son wanted!
 
6 hours at Home Affairs to apply for my passport and another 3 hours to collect it.
Not fun, not recommended but part of living in Africa.
 
I was stuck in traffic due to snow for 13 hours once-- it was a mess and the highway got closed down after I had gotten on to it. Thankfully I had a full tank of gasoline!
 
I don't love waiting in lines......I have terrible balance and fatigue issues so I either find somewhere to sit and wait til lines ease or just go another time when its quieter. As far as longest time I've had to wait, it would probably be either at an airport....LAX springs to mind while waiting for homeland security or maybe at Disneyland when I was 9 years old
 
Waiting in line for concert or theatre tickets, that I have done, more than once , and even though a couple of hours on my feet standing still is not my favourite pass time,at least the other people in the Que was looking forward to the event too,so quite a lot of happy chatter going on .
Queuing for over an hour to pass though customs,at Birmingham Airport,not so much fun.
 
KayTeaPea said:
I was stuck in traffic due to snow for 13 hours once-- it was a mess and the highway got closed down after I had gotten on to it. Thankfully I had a full tank of gasoline!
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Oh, I forgot about getting stuck in traffic during snow storms ... my longest was nearly 8 hours. It once took me 3 hours to get from my office to my home ... usually a 10 minute drive. Now I stay put at the office and wait until the commuter traffic is gone. I have Pepsi, internet and a bathroom here ... much better than being trapped in my car!
 
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